50 Shades of Rosé

So how many of you out there love to adorn your home with something that’s looking amazing (and we’re not talking about your new bed mate here)… everyone’s got their favorite tinge of pink that looks and goes oh so well with your new choice of underwear. It’s true, we all adore some nice crisp and clean whites, a robust red is forever on that list, but when a wine just isn’t quite red it’s just damn well got to be serious and pink!

Now I guess that one of the first things that you need to chalk up on your knowledge board has to be the very straight forward process of why some of it’s just that delicate hint of color, whereas, others are that full on deep and almost fuchsia color that you can only imagine that Barbara Cartland drank at least a bottle at day of.

Well the answer to that question has to be that it’s nothing short of a two step process, whilst not forgetting that our process has to be focused on that mecca of Rosé, the epicenter and mighty fine corner of the world, Provence (well, and a little bit into its surrounding neighborhoods)!

«Two Step Process» I hear you cry! Don’t run away with the idea of reading any further, it’s only a couple of quick steps, I promise you. Grab yourself a glass, start pouring until it’s half full and I’m then going to simplify this as quickly as you can say where’s the corkscrew.

Let’s go judge the Rosé by its color…

Step One ; I’m cool in my own company but I like a friend or two

One of the things that’s going to seriously affect the color is going to be quel grape that’s used. But that’s not the only thing that’s going affect our beloved tipple.

Now our gorgeous grape loves to hang out alone but it also likes to get it on with something deeper that will give it a change in hue but in its single form it’s a little like this…

pinot noir

merlot

grenache

malbec

Mix it up and you’ll obviously get some divine color alternatives that are as variable as a woman’s wardrobe and that can change as much as a French man does his mistress. Of course, as we well know, the wardrobe also changes in accordance to weather, it’s possibly the same for the mistresses… well our delightful pink is like that too, the sensitive soul that she is. This is why your delightfully pink wine that has been produced from that gorgeous dry Grenache grape may vary in color in accordance to where it’s been grown.

I really feel like we’re now getting up close and personal with that bottle of Rosé and our relationship is starting to grow now… now isn’t that a nice thing.

So now that we’ve covered that one step process, we are just going to have to shoot on a bit because I’m sure you’re all dying to know about the next step in the journey of these shades.

Step Two ; beguile me with some maceration, I think it’s time

So now that clarification has taken place, we’ve established that variety is the spice of life and color, another vital in this coloration process has to be down to that all important method. And so, in an attempt to not bore you rigid with details…

Saignée : which is a question of stacking those babies into the barrel as tightly as you can and let their weight squeeze the living daylights out of them. It’s a quick process with minimal skin contact and the result is a delicate pink that is arguably the best.

Limited maceration : now this is the most common process for making our alluringchoice of tipple. Those gorgeous grapes hang out together until the guy that makes the wine has had enough and he’s got the color that he wants. They then get de-skinned and put into a different fermentation tank to finish this wonderful process.

Red wine leftovers : actually it’s called run off… it’s when the winemaker takes thejuice from the red wine that’s busy fermenting and makes it into rosé which will give a much darker color.

And just to confuse you slightly… they also sometimes just press the stuff until they get the color they want! Are we now a little wiser on this whole business?

Of course, we are the fans of Provence Rosé, leading you to probably believe that we are also fans of the dry pink wines. If you’ve made that clever deduction then you may well be wondering why your coveted Zinfandel is so blushingly sweet. Well that’s just a simple process of stopping a short way before production is finalized, so to speak, in other words stopping all of that sugar from fermenting into alcohol. This may be fine for you, yet if you are feeling that you wish to give your life a little va va voom then you’re going to have to zoot off and oooo la la with your French dry variety that will make you screw top off under the table quicker than you can say pour me another one.

I feel that now is the time to finalize this information overload with a simple explanation about aromas. Now I think that we all now realize that Provence Rosé is that darling in that world of pink, it’s that LBD in the wardrobe that you know is going to work (of course, if you’re a guy reading this it may not work quite so well). So to help you along your way of knowing what’s in your family crystal, you know it’s going to be dry, vary in shade and now you’re going to know that it’s going to give you the perfumes of wild strawberries, rose petals and water melons that is going to cut a clean fresh figure when it makes it’s fabulous appearance.

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Annabel

Passionate about rosé wines and living in the hub of it, you'll often find me, glass in hand, in the beautiful French countryside next to some wine barrels. I'm also partial to French gastronomy and won't flinch at the site of a snail on my plate!